Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

Is Symphytum officinale (Comfrey) safe for internal use? And what about Tussilago farfara (Coltsfoot)? Maybe not, according to clinical cases published in the last few years which suggest that the pyrrolizidine alkaloids in these popular traditional herbal medicines may cause serious liver disease if consumed over long periods of time. Germany recently banned some 2500 herbal products with pyrrolizidine alkaloid content, because of these and other cases. Canada recently also banned comfrey root and coltsfoot.

The leaves or mature flowers of coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L) have a long history of use in European traditional medicine for the treatment of respiratory complaints. Even the generic name is derived from tussis, the Latin word for cough. In Chin